Meltdown.

[Agloco]

One of my favorite words.


HA!






(seriously though, it is)

:td

This tends to be a thorn in my side professionally. :lol

[Agloco]

It keeps getting "better"

High levels of radioactive strontium fund near Fukushima

More bad news from Japan – in the wake of last week’s revelation that 3 of the 4 reactors had gone into meltdown and beyond, we now learn that high levels of radioactivity – in particular, particles of strontium 89 and 90 – are being found in groundwater and sea water around the facility, and even further than 60 miles away.

Now that they’re finding levels of strontium up to 240 times the legal limit (via), it’s a whole other ball game. When you ingest strontium 90 into your body – either by breathing it, drinking it in water, or eating it in your food – it gravitates toward your bones. It remains there for years, irradiating your tissues and potentially causing bone cancer or leukemia. And stontium doesn’t decay quickly – it has a half-life of 29 years, keeping the danger level in the hundreds of years.

And now it’s in the soil, in the groundwater, and in the ocean. As it’s ingested by plants and animals up the food chain, it will get more and more concentrated, too. Seafood from the region will be too toxic to eat for years, and agriculture in the surrounding country will be completely out of the question.

Source: Red Green & Blue (http://s.tt/12Eon)

What's Japan's legal limit? Aye, consumption of goods from that region should be curtailed to a great degree for a long while.

Blue - I didn't have time to fully respond earlier but Sr89 we use for palliation of bone mets. It goes by the name Metastron. The real issue is Sr90. That along with I131 and Cs137 form the "big three" as far as the primary health threats are concerned. The good thing here is that it's present in trace amounts from what I can gather (30-300 becs/kg) and it would need to be ingested in order for it's hazardous potential to be fully realized. The fact that the levels are increasing now is worrisome to say the least. They shouldn't be. :(

[boutons_deux]

Full Meltdown: Fukushima Called the 'Biggest Industrial Catastrophe in the History of Mankind'

"Fukushima has three nuclear reactors exposed and four fuel cores exposed," he said, "You probably have the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactor cores because of the fuel cores, and they are all in desperate need of being cooled, and there is no means to cool them effectively."

TEPCO has been spraying water on several of the reactors and fuel cores, but this has led to even greater problems, such as radiation being emitted into the air in steam and evaporated sea water - as well as generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive sea water that has to be disposed of.

"The problem is how to keep it cool," says Gundersen. "They are pouring in water and the question is what are they going to do with the waste that comes out of that system, because it is going to contain plutonium and uranium. Where do you put the water?"

Even though the plant is now shut down, fission products such as uranium continue to generate heat, and therefore require cooling.

"The fuels are now a molten blob at the bottom of the reactor," Gundersen added. "TEPCO announced they had a melt through. A melt down is when the fuel collapses to the bottom of the reactor, and a melt through means it has melted through some layers. That blob is incredibly radioactive, and now you have water on top of it. The water picks up enormous amounts of radiation, so you add more water and you are generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive water."

Independent scientists have been monitoring the locations of radioactive "hot spots" around Japan, and their findings are disconcerting.

"We have 20 nuclear cores exposed, the fuel pools have several cores each, that is 20 times the potential to be released than Chernobyl," said Gundersen. "The data I'm seeing shows that we are finding hot spots further away than we had from Chernobyl, and the amount of radiation in many of them was the amount that caused areas to be declared no-man's-land for Chernobyl. We are seeing square kilometres being found 60 to 70 kilometres away from the reactor. You can't clean all this up. We still have radioactive wild boar in Germany, 30 years after Chernobyl."

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/151328

[leemajors]

Any truth to this?

http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/International/18-Jun-2011/US-orders-news-blackout-over-crippled-Nebraska-Nuclear-Plant-report/1

[boutons_deux]

A Paki ripoff of the The Nation's logo and name?

If you read the entire, very confused screed, it's as credible as Fox Repug Propaganda network "reporting" on Barry and the Dems.

[leemajors]

ya, there are hundreds of articles despite the "blackout"

[Agloco]

With a country that some scientists are now warning may soon become uninhabitable due to radiation damage, and with reports of mutant rabbits and radioactive whales now being reported, one wonders if in knowing the truth the American people would really want to follow Japan’s “example” instead of those people in Germany and Italy?
But, with an already documented 35% increase in the infant mortality rate for American mothers living in the western coastal regions of the US caused by radiation blowing onto them from Japan being ignored by these people there doesn’t seem to be much hope for them. (The EU Times)

Eh? What was that? My pizzas here?

:lol



A Paki ripoff of the The Nation's logo and name?

If you read the entire, very confused screed, it's as credible as Fox Repug Propaganda network "reporting" on Barry and the Dems.

:tu

[RandomGuy]

Interesting article on the potential ultimate death toll. (http://samuelljacksonizer.com/?q=Mfv0KjYRb2dUL2JNbAhUJgrOLAr0bA9OnO9WoqzRoAnOnqr 6nu8OajiPbNm2bNmPb2n1M3rNMgBTou1DL3rUnk1VMqPUbtCOa k1TMqPUMq9SbplBL3lUnu8%3D)





























-----
As seen through the eyes of the Samuel L. Jacksonizer.

[RandomGuy]

Eh? What was that? My pizzas here?

:lol




:tu

A bit of digging and one can get to the ultimate source of the 35% increase claim with the originator of the article:


http://www.counterpunch.org/sherman06102011.html

From a purely statistical standpoint, 4 weeks is waaaay too short of a period to draw any meaningful conclusion.

The authors didn't rule out that the 4 weeks they measured wasn't itself a statistical anomoly outside the normal bounds of expected results. The 4 week period they measured could have been a 4 week period for that area with an unusually low indicidence, so that any period following would have seemed like a spike.

I can tell you from first hand experience with data regarding infant mortality (something very important to some HMO's), that it can be "lumpy", if one simply looks at one month of data, or even one year sometimes.

Seems like bad science to me. Important question to be sure, but it doesn't pass scientific muster, and definitely requires more fleshing out, before anyone should rely on it.

Unfortunately, bullshit can spread at the speed of light on the internet.

I will, of course, defer to your take on it, the above is just my understanding.

[Agloco]

A bit of digging and one can get to the ultimate source of the 35% increase claim with the originator of the article:


http://www.counterpunch.org/sherman06102011.html

From a purely statistical standpoint, 4 weeks is waaaay too short of a period to draw any meaningful conclusion.

The authors didn't rule out that the 4 weeks they measured wasn't itself a statistical anomoly outside the normal bounds of expected results. The 4 week period they measured could have been a 4 week period for that area with an unusually low indicidence, so that any period following would have seemed like a spike.

I can tell you from first hand experience with data regarding infant mortality (something very important to some HMO's), that it can be "lumpy", if one simply looks at one month of data, or even one year sometimes.

Seems like bad science to me. Important question to be sure, but it doesn't pass scientific muster, and definitely requires more fleshing out, before anyone should rely on it.

Unfortunately, bullshit can spread at the speed of light on the internet.

I will, of course, defer to your take on it, the above is just my understanding.

Yeah my issue was with the way the article and title was worded, as if to feed more fuel into the fire than putting the proper context to the findings. As with any such event, the ultimate toll won't be known for many decades, if ever.

The same kind of stuff could be found last year during the Russian wildfires. Then there were reports of "radioactive fires" and such with Cesium and Strontium being lifted into the air again. A little research (which could be done by anyone who bothered to trouble themselves with it) would have revealed this to not be a viable threat.

Much the same distribution exists over the Western US as it does over Western Russia. Very low amounts per square meter. It is definitely inconsequential insofar as teratogenic effects are concerned. I'll link Duke's page for some more info. This information can be found at any cancer centers website.

http://www.safety.duke.edu/radsafety/fdose/fdrisk.asp

One can clearly see two immediate facts: Radiation effects are linked to gestational age, and radiation effects are linked to dose. One can also see that the lower limit for known effects is 1 rem.

We do not have any cumulative doses here in the US which remotely approach 1 rem over time. I'd bet that the general public in Japan might see .6-.8 rem in the near term which translates to tripling the normal background (provided the situation with the cores doesn't destabilize any more......this might not be a sound assumption though).

For context, this is a very good website which gives a synopsis of Chernobyl fallout readings over many countries with links to the papers which were written with the data.

http://www.davistownmuseum.org/cbm/Rad7b.html

[cheguevara]

it's the pregnant women this will affect most. Remeber back in the day many baby deaths were linked to mom's getting an Xray while pregnant.

The radioactivity in many places in Japan is surpassing a mere Xray. Thousands of poor unborn babies are doomed.

[Borat Sagyidev]

it's the pregnant women this will affect most. Remeber back in the day many baby deaths were linked to mom's getting an Xray while pregnant.

The radioactivity in many places in Japan is surpassing a mere Xray. Thousands of poor unborn babies are doomed.

not so much x-ray, but CT and Flouroscopy. A general x-ray is very little exposure, most people get much more naturally.

And yes, a fetus with its rapidly dividing stem cells will be most at risk. Depending on the location and situation, the concern for mercury, lead and other toxins may be greater.

Worldwide exposure from chemical toxins is without question a much more widespread and detrimental. Not that radiation exposure is good either, but we have a worldwide issue of birth defects and it seems like some people only care about radiation exposure.

Edumucate yourself for the love of god. priorities people

Priorities people.

[boutons_deux]

U.S. nuclear regulators weaken safety rules

Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews.

The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety -- and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2011/06/20/us_aging_nukes_part_1/index.html

========

Just another example of UCA regulating the regulators. How many nuclear power executives lives within a couple miles of a nuclear plant?

[Winehole23]

recommends the AP article.

Thanks for posting, boutons.

[RandomGuy]

Examples abound. When valves leaked, more leakage was allowed -- up to 20 times the original limit. When rampant cracking caused radioactive leaks from steam generator tubing, an easier test of the tubes was devised, so plants could meet standards.

Failed cables. Busted seals. Broken nozzles, clogged screens, cracked concrete, dented containers, corroded metals and rusty underground pipes -- all of these and thousands of other problems linked to aging were uncovered in the AP's yearlong investigation. And all of them could escalate dangers in the event of an accident.

Yet despite the many problems linked to aging, not a single official body in government or industry has studied the overall frequency and potential impact on safety of such breakdowns in recent years, even as the NRC has extended the licenses of dozens of reactors.

Industry and government officials defend their actions, and insist that no chances are being taken. But the AP investigation found that with billions of dollars and 19 percent of America's electricity supply at stake, a cozy relationship prevails between the industry and its regulator, the NRC.

Sounds alarmingly like the relationship between the regulator and companies before Deepwater Horizon, and the Massey incident.

Both of those have risks that pale in comparison to a major nuclear accident in a populated area.

[Agloco]

not so much x-ray, but CT and Flouroscopy. A general x-ray is very little exposure, most people get much more naturally.

This. X-rays are generally considered safe for pregnant women. The risk of not getting one is usually much greater.

[cheguevara]

I was referring to back in the day before ultrasound obys used to use xrays to monitor fetus development. That practice has stopped completely and now replaced by ultrasound.

Why? because many studies tracked back to the use of xrays to monitor fetus development and sick/dead fetus or children.

[Agloco]

U.S. nuclear regulators weaken safety rules

Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation's aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.





As an understanding of the dynamics involved in producing nuclear power became more clear during the 1950's and 60's, the governing bodies (NRC, etc) decided that a relaxing of standards was appropriate provided that there was no substantive evidence of safety compromises. Now, while that practice is appropriate to a degree, there's always the danger of tipping the see-saw so to speak.

I can vouch for the AP investigation. No industry can be left to it's own devices without dilligent oversight IMO. Purposeful lapses in enforcement for the sake of finance is inexcusable. It falls to each plant operator and his ethical standards to ensure that violations are appropriately documented and rectified to prevent disasters.

All it will take is one mishap and the industry will come crashing down.

[boutons_deux]

"X-rays are generally considered safe for pregnant women"

holy fucking shit.

[Agloco]

"X-rays are generally considered safe for pregnant women"

holy fucking shit.

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/safety/index.cfm?pg=sfty_xray

There's a risk for everything in medicine. Sorry if that's an inconvenient truth.

[mouse]

Agloco could wake up with a foot growing out of his neck and say that's great now i know what to do with that extra sock from the dryer.

The man is a heartless wannabee nuclear physicist expert.

[Agloco]

Agloco could wake up with a foot growing out of his neck and say that's great now i know what to do with that extra sock from the dryer.

The man is a heartless wannabee nuclear physicist expert.

:lol

Dunno about the heartless part though. :hat

[RandomGuy]

Somebody pissed in my wheaties.

Sorry to hear that.

You ok? You seem a bit worked up.

[mouse]

Sorry to hear that.

You ok? You seem a bit worked up.

I will be ok your sister still has milk in her left tit for another bowl.

[Wild Cobra]

Agloco could wake up with a foot growing out of his neck and say that's great now i know what to do with that extra sock from the dryer.

The man is a heartless wannabee nuclear physicist expert.
LOL...

He knows far more than you!

[Capt Bringdown]

Fukushima: It's much worse than you think (http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/06/201161664828302638.html)


"Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind," Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Al Jazeera.

"The fuels are now a molten blob at the bottom of the reactor," Gundersen added. "That blob is incredibly radioactive, and now you have water on top of it. The water picks up enormous amounts of radiation, so you add more water and you are generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive water."

Hot particles:
"We are discovering hot particles everywhere in Japan, even in Tokyo," he said. "Scientists are finding these everywhere. Over the last 90 days these hot particles have continued to fall and are being deposited in high concentrations. A lot of people are picking these up in car engine air filters."

Radioactive air filters from cars in Fukushima prefecture and Tokyo are now common, and Gundersen says his sources are finding radioactive air filters in the greater Seattle area of the US as well.

The hot particles on them can eventually lead to cancer. "These get stuck in your lungs or GI tract, and they are a constant irritant," he explained. arly people in Fukushima prefecture have breathed in a large amount of these particles. Clearly the upper West Coast of the US has people being affected. That area got hit pretty heavy in April."

A problem of infinite proportions

Gundersen's assessment of solving this crisis is grim.

"Units one through three have nuclear waste on the floor, the melted core, that has plutonium in it, and that has to be removed from the environment for hundreds of thousands of years," he said. "Somehow, robotically, they will have to go in there and manage to put it in a container and store it for infinity, and that technology doesn't exist. Nobody knows how to pick up the molten core from the floor, there is no solution available now for picking that up from the floor."

- more - (http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/06/201161664828302638.html)

[cheguevara]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/21/987263/-Fukushima:-cores-are-sitting-on-concrete?via=blog_676110

Assistant Professor Hiroaki Koide, Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute:

As far as I can tell from the announcements made by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the nuclear fuel that has melted down inside reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant has gone through the bottom of the containers, which are like pressure cookers, and is lying on the concrete foundations, sinking into the ground below. We have to install a barrier deep in the soil and build a subterranean dam as soon as possible to prevent groundwater contaminated with radioactive materials from leaking into the ocean.
(my emphasis)

Estimates are on the order of $1B dollars to construct a subterranean dam -- that much money would destroy TEPCO and there is no reason to believe the Japanese government would pay for it. (Political realities aside, there is no choice -- it has to be done.)

So TEPCO's prepared answer to the obvious question, why hasn't this construction already started?

Underground water flows at a speed of about 5 to 10 centimeters a day, so we have more than a year before it reaches the shore. :lol

The linked article (in both English and Japanese) goes on to speculate that the reason the Japanese government is so slow to react, just as with the end of WWII -- "common sense was lost, and the government was slow to reach a decision."

And there you have it. TEPCO wishes to make the Japanese government foot the bill, and the Japanese government reacts at the speed of frozen sludge moving uphill in winter. (IMHO)

But the key point in the article is that should such a dam be announced after June 28, it will confirm what is already strongly suspected, that one or more cores are presently resting on concrete below their containers and are eating their way down to the water table.

[cheguevara]

damn. so entombing the entire plant has been decided. Now they are fighting and stalling about who will pay for it. goddam!

[boutons_deux]

Corporate cost-cutting and ass-covering

Fukushima engineers knew of critical design flaw years in advance

An electric switching station the size of a kitchen table was the major component to fail when the facility was swamped by seawater in the tsunami following the March 11 earthquake. In older reactors, the switching station is housed in a vulnerable outbuilding rather than in the building that houses the reactor.

When the switching stations went offline, operation of the reactors' cooling systems became impossible, leading to the meltdowns in the unstable fuel cores. The reactors based on the newer design successfully shut down when the plant was inundated.

Dozens of former officials and workers told the Journal that Tepco failed to avail itself of opportunities to retrofit the reactors in the decades since their construction. They blame a combination of "complacency, cost-cutting measures and lax regulation".

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/01/fukushima-engineers-knew-of-critical-design-flaw-years-in-advance/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

[mouse]

LOL...

He knows far more than you!

So did this guy.......

http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2006/10/23/image2113459g.jpg

[Agloco]

So did this guy.......

http://wwwimage.cbsnews.com/images/2006/10/23/image2113459g.jpg

He got caught though. :wow

:lol

[Agloco]

Corporate cost-cutting and ass-covering

Fukushima engineers knew of critical design flaw years in advance

An electric switching station the size of a kitchen table was the major component to fail when the facility was swamped by seawater in the tsunami following the March 11 earthquake. In older reactors, the switching station is housed in a vulnerable outbuilding rather than in the building that houses the reactor.

When the switching stations went offline, operation of the reactors' cooling systems became impossible, leading to the meltdowns in the unstable fuel cores. The reactors based on the newer design successfully shut down when the plant was inundated.

Dozens of former officials and workers told the Journal that Tepco failed to avail itself of opportunities to retrofit the reactors in the decades since their construction. They blame a combination of "complacency, cost-cutting measures and lax regulation".

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/01/fukushima-engineers-knew-of-critical-design-flaw-years-in-advance/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

Imagine that. All of this can be traced back to money and complacency.

[boutons_deux]

Highly Radioactive Soil Outside the Evacuation Zone in Japan Raises Alarm

Soil radiation in a city 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Japan's stricken nuclear plant is above levels that prompted resettlement after the Chernobyl disaster,

http://www.alternet.org/environment/151519/highly_radioactive_soil_outside_the_evacuation_zon e_in_japan_raises_alarm?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet

[Agloco]

Highly Radioactive Soil Outside the Evacuation Zone in Japan Raises Alarm

Soil radiation in a city 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Japan's stricken nuclear plant is above levels that prompted resettlement after the Chernobyl disaster,

http://www.alternet.org/environment/151519/highly_radioactive_soil_outside_the_evacuation_zon e_in_japan_raises_alarm?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet

Can't load the article. Does it detail how much soil is affected?

[mouse]

He got caught though. :wow

:lol

Just as you will!

[boutons_deux]

Can't load the article. Does it detail how much soil is affected?

The survey of four locations in Fukushima city, outside the nuclear evacuation zone, showed that all soil samples contained caesium exceeding Japan's legal limit of 10,000 becquerels per kilogram (4,500 per pound), they said.

The highest level was 46,540 becquerels per kilogram, and the three other readings were between 16,290 and 19,220 becquerels per kilogram, they said.

The citizens' groups -- the Fukushima Network for Saving Children from Radiation and five other non-governmental organisations -- have called for the evacuation of pregnant women and children from the town.

The highest reading in the city of 290,000 people far exceeded the level that triggered compulsory resettlement ordered by Soviet authorities following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, they said.

[mouse]

Can't load the article. Does it detail how much soil is affected?

Not nearly enough to effect your Garden.

[Winehole23]

Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of Japan (http://topics.bloomberg.com/japan/)’s crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, said it detected the highest radiation to date at the site.



Geiger counters, used to detect radioactivity, registered more than 10 sieverts an hour, the highest reading the devices are able to record, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility, said today. The measurements were taken at the base of the main ventilation stack for reactors No. 1 and No. 2.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-01/tepco-says-highest-radiation-yet-is-detected-at-fukushima-dai-ichi.html

[RandomGuy]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-01/tepco-says-highest-radiation-yet-is-detected-at-fukushima-dai-ichi.html

Saw that.

"fatal to humans" in some places, and they are just getting in to some of the areas.


"It is now looking more likely that this area has been this radioactive since the earthquake and tsunami but no one realised until now."

[RandomGuy]

Imagine that. All of this can be traced back to money and complacency.

Nuclear power plants don't kill people.

People kill people.



The only good thing about this is that nuclear power is finally getting a hard look in terms of safety at all levels, and many are deciding that it is just not worth the cost.

[cheguevara]

"safe" and "half life of 300 years" do not go together. Never did, never will.

[ElNono]

Swede held for building nuclear reactor in his kitchen (http://www.thelocal.se/35306/20110802/)

[Wild Cobra]

Swede held for building nuclear reactor in his kitchen (http://www.thelocal.se/35306/20110802/)
LOL...

We have an industrialist who needs investors...

[Agloco]

Nuclear power plants don't kill people.

People kill people.



The only good thing about this is that nuclear power is finally getting a hard look in terms of safety at all levels, and many are deciding that it is just not worth the cost.

Yeah, my point exactly. It probably didn't come across as such though.



"safe" and "half life of 300 years" do not go together. Never did, never will.

Well, now we're over-generalizing.......


Swede held for building nuclear reactor in his kitchen (http://www.thelocal.se/35306/20110802/)

Where'd he get the raw materials? :lol

[Winehole23]

"It is now looking more likely that this area has been this radioactive since the earthquake and tsunami but no one realised until now." Holy fuck. Why the fuck not?

[mouse]

Nuclear power plants don't kill people.

People kill people.


So the Nuclear plants built themselves?

[Agloco]

"It is now looking more likely that this area has been this radioactive since the earthquake and tsunami but no one realised until now."


Holy fuck. Why the fuck not?

Depending on the area, it may not have been feasible to get close up readings until now. Detection of highly radioactive patches requires close inspection unfortunately.

[Agloco]

So the Nuclear plants built themselves?

What RG and I were getting at is that neglect on the part of the authorities involved will cause an incident which might cost lives. Proper upkeep and inspection goes a long way to averting disasters.

It all came back to money and complacency. Go figure.

[Winehole23]

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto has instructed his ministry to refrain from claiming the safety of Japanese foods, changing its stance after radiation-contamination beef was found to have been sold to consumers in Japan, sources close to the matter said Sunday.http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110808p2g00m0dm003000c.html

[Winehole23]

...
(http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-08/rice-in-tokyo-gains-after-seven-decade-halt.html)

[Agloco]

Sigh.....its like Keystone Capers over there. I can't begin to quantify the failure.

[Winehole23]

Depending on the area, it may not have been feasible to get close up readings until now. Detection of highly radioactive patches requires close inspection unfortunately.Of course. A moment of reflection might have revealed that, but sadly, you were quicker. :lol

[RandomGuy]

Sigh.....its like Keystone Capers over there. I can't begin to quantify the failure.

Nuclear power is perfectly safe ... until you let human beings get involved.

[Agloco]

Nuclear power is perfectly safe ... until you let human beings get involved.

Or mother nature.

Contaminated beef sold to consumers.....

There aren't enough facepalms to go around IMO.

[cheguevara]

Japan Government Concealed Evidence of Radiation Fallout
http://www.casavaria.com/cafesentido/2011/08/09/8419/japan-government-concealed-evidence-of-radiation-fallout/

Given no guidance from Tokyo, town officials led the residents north, believing that winter winds would be blowing south and carrying away any radioactive emissions. For three nights, while hydrogen explosions at four of the reactors spewed radiation into the air, they stayed in a district called Tsushima where the children played outside and some parents used water from a mountain stream to prepare rice.

The winds, in fact, had been blowing directly toward Tsushima — and town officials would learn two months later that a government computer system designed to predict the spread of radioactive releases had been showing just that.

But the forecasts were left unpublicized by bureaucrats in Tokyo, operating in a culture that sought to avoid responsibility and, above all, criticism. Japan’s political leaders at first did not know about the system and later played down the data, apparently fearful of having to significantly enlarge the evacuation zone — and acknowledge the accident’s severity.

[cheguevara]

Japan rice worries a blow to collective psyche
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/10/japan-rice-psyche-idUSL3E7JA0CJ20110810

News that local governments around Japan will test rice for radioactive caesium came as a blow that rocked the nation's collective psyche, threatening to make its beloved traditional staple the latest in a long list of forbidden foods.

[cheguevara]

Japan's radiation scare to hit beef output
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/03/us-japan-nuclear-beef-idUSTRE7724KQ20110803

Japan's widening ban on cattle shipments after the discovery of radiation-contaminated feed will reduce domestic beef output in the short term, but it remains unclear to what degree suppliers such as Australia and the United States could benefit.

[mouse]

Hey Agloco how do you prefer your burger?

[Agloco]

Hey Agloco how do you prefer your burger?

Medium. I'll take a tall glass of milk with that too.

[hater]

:lol

Valentino Rossi easily drives 200mph on his motorcycle. But won't go to Japan due to the radiation

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-racing-news-moto-gp/rossi-radiation-will-stop-me-going-to-japan/18832.html

[mouse]

Medium. I'll take a tall glass of milk with that too.

How can you joke about people suffering do you have Nazi heritage your not admitting to?

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/RackTheMouse/philspector.jpg

[RandomGuy]

How can you joke about people suffering do you have Nazi heritage your not admitting to?

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/RackTheMouse/philspector.jpg

"YOU'RE"

Just once.


Try it.


Please?

[Winehole23]

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/12/140402430/japanese-seniors-send-us-to-damaged-nuclear-plant

[Winehole23]

Though Fukushima and Chernobyl are both level 7 nuclear accidents, the health consequences in Japan to date are much less severe. In part, that's because far more radiation was released at Chernobyl. So far, Fukushima Dai-ichi has released about one-tenth of the amount of radioactive material that escaped Chernobyl, according to an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency.



At Chernobyl, an entire reactor exploded, sending up a massive fire and radioactive plume that dispersed radiation over a wide area. The reactor at the Soviet plant was not surrounded by any containment structure, so radiation escaped freely.
http://www.npr.org/2011/04/12/135353240/fukushima-vs-chernobyl-what-does-level-7-mean

[Agloco]

From two weeks ago but:

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/fukushimas-contamination-produces-some-surprises-at-sea/


The good news is that researchers found the entire region 20 to 400 miles offshore had radiation levels too low to be an immediate threat to humans.

But there was also an unpleasant surprise. “Rather than leveling off toward zero, it remained elevated in late July,’’ he said, up to about 10,000 becquerel per cubic meter. ‘‘That suggests the release problem has not been solved yet.”



Levels are stabilizing at 10k Becs. They should approach zero as dispersion occurs. Troubling.

[mouse]

Here Agloco for you and three guests.


http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_ada/tickets.JPG

[Agloco]

Here Agloco for you and three guests.


http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/shang_ada/tickets.JPG

I suppose it's a good thing those tickets are for an event which took place three years ago in China.

[Winehole23]

During court proceedings concerning a radioactive golf course, Tokyo Electric Power Co. stunned lawyers by saying the utility was not responsible for decontamination because it no longer "owned" the radioactive substances.


“Radioactive materials (such as cesium) that scattered and fell from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant belong to individual landowners there, not TEPCO,” the utility said.


http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201111240030

[Agloco]

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201111240030

I'm not familiar with the finer points of Japanese nuclear regulation, but this reeks of legal sleight of hand. As far as the NRC is concerned, any licensed facility charged with the use of or production of nuclear material is also on the hook for any cleanup which might be necessary as a result of that use.

TEPCO continues to show its true colors. Quite sickening.

[mouse]

I suppose it's a good thing those tickets are for an event which took place three years ago in China.

Hence the sarcasm.....try and keep up brah.... I won't be able to hold your hand though every debate we meet in anymore cause I like you. It's not ethical..

[Winehole23]

Levels are stabilizing at 10k Becs. They should approach zero as dispersion occurs. Troubling.Litotes?

[Agloco]

Hence the sarcasm.....try and keep up brah.... I won't be able to hold your hand though every debate we meet in anymore cause I like you. It's not ethical..

:wakeup

[Agloco]

Litotes?

Given the context, most definitely.

[Agloco]

http://news.yahoo.com/water-leaks-crippled-japanese-nuclear-plant-133831478.html;_ylt=ArzjnpUzaIfQqOe40dG13hGs0NUE;_ ylu=X3oDMTNsbmlmbzhhBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBGUARwa2cDNT M3OGI1OWItMWYzYy0zMDMxLWEyYmUtNmU4OGM1ZjZmMjgxBHBv cwMzBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyA2VjMzQ1MjM2LTFmNzItMT FlMS1hYWMxLWMzZDExZDAwZmU3OQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRw c3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ ylv=3



A pool of radioactive water was discovered midday Sunday around a decontamination device, TEPCO said in a statement on its website. After the equipment was turned off, the leak appeared to stop. Later, workers found a crack in a concrete barrier leaking the contaminated water into a gutter that leads to the ocean.

TEPCO estimated about 300 liters leaked out before the crack was blocked with sandbags.

Officials were checking whether any water had reached the nearby ocean.

The leakage of radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean in the weeks after the March 11 accident caused widespread concern that seafood in the coastal waters would be contaminated.

The pooled water around the purification device was measured Sunday at 16,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-134, and 29,000 bequerels per liter of cesium-137, TEPCO said. That's 270 times and 322 times higher, respectively, than government safety limits, according to the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.

[RandomGuy]

I'm not familiar with the finer points of Japanese nuclear regulation, but this reeks of legal sleight of hand. As far as the NRC is concerned, any licensed facility charged with the use of or production of nuclear material is also on the hook for any cleanup which might be necessary as a result of that use.

TEPCO continues to show its true colors. Quite sickening.

Wow.

"Sorry about that greasy dump I took on your front porch, it is now your property, so you have to clean it up".

What a novel theory. Perhaps the people near the plant can try that legal theory on the lawyers' or TEPCO executives' front steps.

[mouse]

Agloco plays both sides of the subject matter he acts like the radiation no worse than eating a banana then he post links that show how serious it is.

[Agloco]

Agloco plays both sides of the subject matter he acts like the radiation no worse than eating a banana.

As much as everyone would like to take you at face value, I think a few quotes are in order.

[Wild Cobra]

Agloco plays both sides of the subject matter he acts like the radiation no worse than eating a banana then he post links that show how serious it is.
Not sure what you are getting at, but the 322 times will be well diluted once it hits the ocean. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming it's safe. Just that it's nowhere near a disaster.

[mouse]

will be well diluted once it hits the ocean.

So if a man only puts 333% of his cock in your ass your not really gay?

There is no such thing as safe amount of radiation that is how uneducated Agloco and others are.

[boutons_deux]

Greenpeace: Fukushima Massive Contamination Rapidly Spinning Out of Control

The Japanese government doesn’t know how to deal with the massive contamination caused by the nuclear disaster. Instead of protecting people from radiation, they are downplaying the risks by increasing the allowed radiation levels far above international standards. And professors like Dr. Yamashita, who make statements like ‘If you smile, the radiation will not affect you’ are being employed as official advisors on radiation health risk.

In short, it is clear that the situation in Fukushima is rapidly spinning out of control, and if the national government does not take full responsibility for the protection of its population, the people affected by the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi will continue to suffer for a long time to come.


http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/living-with-fukushima-citys-radiation-problem/blog/38305/

[mouse]

Hey Agloco.......................



bon appetit



http://www.josephdecuis.com/files/pages/Ladyandribeye.jpg

[Agloco]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204336104577096281099680526.html


TOKYO—Japanese authorities are set to announce Friday that they have brought the Fukushima Daiichi complex's devastated reactors to a state called cold shutdown, a milestone in stabilizing the site of the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

[boutons_deux]

Medical Journal Article: 14,000 U.S. Deaths Tied to Fukushima Reactor Disaster Fallout

Impact Seen As Roughly Comparable to Radiation-Related Deaths After Chernobyl; Infants Are Hardest Hit, With Continuing Research Showing Even Higher Possible Death Count.

"This study of Fukushima health hazards is the first to be published in a scientific journal. It raises concerns, and strongly suggests that health studies continue, to understand the true impact of Fukushima in Japan and around the world. Findings are important to the current debate of whether to build new reactors, and how long to keep aging ones in operation."

"Based on our continuing research, the actual death count here may be as high as 18,000, with influenza and pneumonia, which were up five-fold in the period in question as a cause of death. Deaths are seen across all ages, but we continue to find that infants are hardest hit because their tissues are rapidly multiplying, they have undeveloped immune systems, and the doses of radioisotopes are proportionally greater than for adults."

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues weekly reports on numbers of deaths for 122 U.S. cities with a population over 100,000, or about 25-30 percent of the U.S. In the 14 weeks after Fukushima fallout arrived in the U.S. (March 20 to June 25), deaths reported to the CDC rose 4.46 percent from the same period in 2010, compared to just 2.34 percent in the 14 weeks prior. Estimated excess deaths during this period for the entire U.S. are about 14,000.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/19/4132989/medical-journal-article-14000.html

.

[mouse]

Agloco quote

Radiation is about a bad as eating a Banana

[Wild Cobra]

Agloco quote

Radiation is about a bad as eating a Banana
I think you should put that in the proper context.

[RandomGuy]

Medical Journal Article: 14,000 U.S. Deaths Tied to Fukushima Reactor Disaster Fallout

Impact Seen As Roughly Comparable to Radiation-Related Deaths After Chernobyl; Infants Are Hardest Hit, With Continuing Research Showing Even Higher Possible Death Count.

"This study of Fukushima health hazards is the first to be published in a scientific journal. It raises concerns, and strongly suggests that health studies continue, to understand the true impact of Fukushima in Japan and around the world. Findings are important to the current debate of whether to build new reactors, and how long to keep aging ones in operation."

"Based on our continuing research, the actual death count here may be as high as 18,000, with influenza and pneumonia, which were up five-fold in the period in question as a cause of death. Deaths are seen across all ages, but we continue to find that infants are hardest hit because their tissues are rapidly multiplying, they have undeveloped immune systems, and the doses of radioisotopes are proportionally greater than for adults."

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues weekly reports on numbers of deaths for 122 U.S. cities with a population over 100,000, or about 25-30 percent of the U.S. In the 14 weeks after Fukushima fallout arrived in the U.S. (March 20 to June 25), deaths reported to the CDC rose 4.46 percent from the same period in 2010, compared to just 2.34 percent in the 14 weeks prior. Estimated excess deaths during this period for the entire U.S. are about 14,000.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/12/19/4132989/medical-journal-article-14000.html

.

Hmmm.

I am be somewhat skeptical of any such clear cut spike. Science rarely works that way.

(edit)

One thing that starts activating my bullshit detector is when articles spend a lot of time trying to establish how credible the source material is.

When you cite that many sciency sounding sources, it usually means that you are compensating for something.

[mouse]

Agloco quote

Radiation is about a bad as eating a Banana



I think you should put that in the proper context.

Bend over and I will. (rim shot)

The Bottom line 98% of you took radiation as a Joke and now your uneducated words will haunt you on the www for generations to come .

[Wild Cobra]

Bend over and I will. (rim shot)

The Bottom line 98% of you took radiation as a Joke and now your uneducated words will haunt you on the www for generations to come .

Isn't it you that says no amount of radiation is acceptable?

I'd like to know how thick the lead lined room is that you live in.

[Agloco]

Japan's nuclear response filled with errors, report says

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/26/world/asia/japan-nuclear/index.html?hpt=hp_t2



- Plant operators "did not fully understand" a key backup system, investigators say
- "Such a situation is quite inappropriate," their report states
- The plant's emergency command center wasn't shielded from radiation
- Investigators criticize delayed or "ambiguous" statements by authorities

This just gets uglier and uglier. :depressed

[mouse]

I'd like to know how thick the lead lined room is that you live in.

Not safe enough.... they need to be as thick your head.

[mouse]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/26/world/asia/japan-nuclear/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
This just gets uglier and uglier. :depressed

You knew that when you married her.

[Winehole23]

http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2012012300780

[Winehole23]

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/quake_local_index.html

[Winehole23]

Japan used seawater to cool nuclear fuel at the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant after the tsunami in March 2011 -- and that was probably the best action to take at the time, says Professor Alexandra Navrotsky of the University of California, Davis.


But Navrotsky and others have since discovered a new way in which seawater can corrode nuclear fuel, forming uranium compounds that could potentially travel long distances, either in solution or as very small particles. The research team published its work Jan. 23 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.


“This is a phenomenon that has not been considered before,” said Alexandra Navrotsky, distinguished professor of ceramic, earth and environmental materials chemistry. “We don’t know how much this will increase the rate of corrosion, but it is something that will have to be considered in future.”


Japan used seawater to avoid a much more serious accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant, and Navrotsky said, to her knowledge, there is no evidence of long-distance uranium contamination from the plant.


Uranium in nuclear fuel rods is in a chemical form that is “pretty insoluble” in water, Navrotsky said, unless the uranium is oxidized to uranium-VI — a process that can be facilitated when radiation converts water into peroxide, a powerful oxidizing agent.


Peter Burns, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame and a co-author of the new paper, had previously made spherical uranium peroxide clusters, rather like carbon “buckyballs,” that can dissolve or exist as solids.


In the new paper, the researchers show that in the presence of alkali metal ions such as sodium — for example, in seawater — these clusters are stable enough to persist in solution or as small particles even when the oxidizing agent is removed.


In other words, these clusters could form on the surface of a fuel rod exposed to seawater and then be transported away, surviving in the environment for months or years before reverting to more common forms of uranium, without peroxide, and settling to the bottom of the ocean. There is no data yet on how fast these uranium peroxide clusters will break down in the environment, Navrotsky said.


Navrotsky and Burns worked with the following co-authors: postdoctoral researcher Christopher Armstrong and project scientist Tatiana Shvareva, UC Davis; May Nyman, Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, N.M.; and Ginger Sigmon, University of Notre Dame. The U.S. Department of Energy supported the project.
http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10131

[Winehole23]

(Updated) TEPCO Press Conference on Reactor 2 RPV Temperature
[...]
(There are many reporters this time…)
[...]
Asahi Shinbun’s reporter asked how high exactly the temperature went, as the graph seemed to show the spike above 90 degrees Celsius.
Matsumoto answered the graph is plotting all the 1-second readings from the digital display, not visually verified by the workers. The official reporting is every 6 hours, the reference reporting is every hour.
http://enenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/90Cspike.jpgSOURCE: EX-SKF

[...]
Q: Why has the temperature started to vary widely since noon?

A: We don’t quite know.


Q: When will you get back to the normal operation under the safety regulations?

A: To do it, we have to make sure it is the instrument failure.


Q: Does the instrument failure have to do with the variance?

A: It’s not that the instrument failure started today, but it may have started late January when this thermometer started to behave differently from the other two at the bottom of the RPV.
[...]
Q: Why did you start mentioning “instrument failure” only when the temperature started to approach 80 degrees Celsius?

A: We didn’t think it was behaving erratically. The variance of 1 degrees was understood. The trend changed at the end of January. Also, the temperature remained high as more water accumulate inside the RPV, therefore the instrument failure more likely.


A: We want to see if it is possible to have the instrument failure where the temperature drops, instead of going up.


A: The Containment Vessel is still hot and humid, so we have to make sure the other instruments [with temperatures remaining in the 30s?] are working properly. At this point, we don’t have better alternatives.
[...]
Q: Why are you increasing the amount of water if you think it is the instrument failure? What do you think of the safety regulations?

A: We have always informed the NISA and followed the safety regulations. (No answer on why they are increasing water.)


http://enenews.com/asahi-reporter-tepco-graph-shows-spike-above-90%C2%B0c-at-reactor-no-2-exactly-how-high-have-the-temperatures-gone

[MannyIsGod]

Frontline has a episode that is airing right now on Fukushima. As always, they've done a good job.

As an aside I'm not sure there's a news program I enjoy more than Frontline.

[MannyIsGod]

Also, NPR's Fresh Air from today has an interview with the director of the Frontline episode. It is very good as well.

[Winehole23]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june12/fukushimapt2_03-12.html

[RandomGuy]

Also, NPR's Fresh Air from today has an interview with the director of the Frontline episode. It is very good as well.

Good and scary.

The Japanese government is coming up covered in shit as more details emerge.

On the mild upside, the Japanese people have been much comforted by US efforts to help. The US embassador has commented that he is constantly told how much that help has been appreciated by the common folk he meets and talks to.

[Winehole23]

One of the biggest issues that we face is the possibility that the spent nuclear fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant will collapse. This is something that experts from both within and outside Japan have pointed out since the massive quake struck. TEPCO, meanwhile, says that the situation is under control. However, not only independent experts, but also sources within the government say that it's a grave concern.


The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it. The 7-story building itself has suffered great damage, with the storage pool barely intact on the building's third and fourth floors. The roof has been blown away. If the storage pool breaks and runs dry, the nuclear fuel inside will overheat and explode, causing a massive amount of radioactive substances to spread over a wide area. Both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and French nuclear energy company Areva have warned about this risk.


A report released in February by the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident stated that the storage pool of the plant's No. 4 reactor has clearly been shown to be "the weakest link" in the parallel, chain-reaction crises of the nuclear disaster. The worse-case scenario drawn up by the government includes not only the collapse of the No. 4 reactor pool, but the disintegration of spent fuel rods from all the plant's other reactors. If this were to happen, residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area would be forced to evacuate.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20120402p2a00m0na002000c.html

[mouse]

Where are all those tasteless radiation jokes now?

[ChumpDumper]

Where are all those tasteless radiation jokes now?You stopped posting them.

[mouse]

I think the topics speak for themselves.

All anyone has to do is look back to when the Japan disaster took place and you and your Agloco TRolls had a field day downplaying it with tasteless remarks and schoolyard insults.

You really want to see the quotes?

[ChumpDumper]

I think the topics speak for themselves.As do your posts.

[mouse]

As yours also.

[Nbadan]

60 Minutes Report: Fukushima Now Radiating Everyone: Will Impact All Of Humanity

BAzrWJXBIM0

[mouse]

As Agloco drinks champagne

[Winehole23]

Japan is switching off its last working nuclear reactor, as part of the safety drive since the March 2011 tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima plant.


The third reactor at the Tomari plant, in Hokkaido prefecture, is shutting down for routine maintenance.



It leaves Japan without energy from atomic power for the first time for more than 40 years.


Until last year, Japan got 30% of its power from nuclear energy.
Hundreds of people marched through Tokyo, waving banners to celebrate what they hope will be the end of nuclear power in Japan...


Since the Fukushima disaster, all the country's reactors have been shut down for routine maintenance. They must withstand tests against earthquakes and tsunamis, and local authorities must give their consent in order for plants to restart.



So far, none have.



Two reactors at the Ohi plant in western Japan have been declared safe. The government says they should be restarted to combat looming shortages.


However, regional authorities would still have to give their approval.
Ministers have warned Japan faces a summer of power shortages.
The BBC's Roland Buerk, in Tokyo, says the government could force the issue, but so far has been reluctant to move against public opinion.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17967202

[boutons_deux]

Tokyo soil so contaminated with radiation it would be considered nuclear waste in US

Radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster continues to show up at dangerously high levels in the city of Tokyo, which is located roughly 200 miles from the actual disaster site. According to an analysis of five random soil samples recently taken by nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen, the soil around Tokyo is so contaminated with Fukushima radiation that it would be considered nuclear waste here in the U.S.

During a recent trip to Tokyo, Gundersen collected soil samples from a sidewalk, a children's playground, a rooftop, a patch of moss by the side of a road, and the lawn of a judicial building. After sending those samples in for testing, it was revealed that each one had high levels of radioactive cesium-134 (CS134) and cesium-137 (CS137), while three of the samples contained high levels of cobalt-60 (CO60). One of the samples also tested positive for uranium-235 (U235).

"[W]hen I was in Tokyo, I took some samples [...] and sent them to the lab," said Gundersen in a recent video report. "And the lab determined that all of them would be qualified as radioactive waste here in the United States and would have to be shipped to Texas to be disposed of."

http://www.naturalnews.com/035963_Tokyo_radiation_nuclear_waste.html#ixzz1vmS 3mW58

[Winehole23]

The Japanese government is likely to decide to eliminate all nuclear power over the next two decades in a new long-term energy plan that comes amid strong public opposition to atomic energy and ahead of national elections expected in the next few months, said government officials familiar with policy discussions.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443855804577603051383403854.html

[TeyshaBlue]

Hello Germany.

[Th'Pusher]

Hello Germany.

NIMBY

Germans Confront The Costs Of A Nuclear-Free Future (http://www.npr.org/2012/08/14/158760520/germans-confront-the-costs-of-a-nuclear-free-future)


After Japan's Fukushima disaster last year, Germany announced a groundbreaking energy plan: It would phase out all of its domestic nuclear power in a decade and make a transition to safer, carbon neutral energy.

The goal is to have solar, wind and other renewables account for nearly 40 percent of the energy for Europe's largest economy in a decade, and 80 percent by 2050.

But already the revolutionary plan and its ambitious timeline are in doubt. There are deep concerns about rising energy costs, and some citizens are mobilizing against fast-track plans for an expanded power grid.

Horst Leithoff, a 57-year-old dairy farmer in the northern German village of Ellhoeft, was hoping for some July sun to harvest the hay in his fields. He got rainy, windy weather instead.

Wind turbines near Ellhoeft, in northern Germany, close to the Danish border. The challenge for Germany's new energy plan is how to transmit power generated in the north to the population centers in the south.
But that's OK with Leithoff, too. His other job is helping to manage four community wind farms in the North Frisia region near the Danish border. The massive, 500-foot-tall wind turbines have blades that weigh 22 tons apiece. Every rotation is marked by a rhythmic sound, like some enormous metronome.

This slice of northwest Germany is one of the country's best on-shore places to harvest the wind. And this northern state is rapidly expanding its wind production. But the problem today is transporting that energy — generated in this rural area — south to Germany's population centers.

"You have to invest in the grids," says Leithoff. "We need about 200 million euros to invest to collect the energy from the wind farms on the west coast to Hamburg. The capacity is not big enough. We need a better grid."

Expanding the north-south grid is essential if the country is to meet its target of phasing out German nuclear power and more than doubling its renewable energy in just 10 years.

In May, the country's four private electricity grid operators — the big power companies — handed Chancellor Angela Merkel a plan to build roughly 2,800 miles of new power lines from northern to southern Germany.

But that plan for new high-capacity overhead lines is running into the familiar backlash.

Quality Of Life Concerns

Malte Graf lives in the village of Preetz in the picturesque northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. A field of waist-high wheat grows next to his house. A forest protected by the EU frames the field on two sides. By law, the new power lines can't go into the woodlands. They'd have to come through his field.

Power Grid Must Adapt To Handle Renewable Energy
"Between these two forests are just hundred of meters for the fields," Graf says. "This electricity line has to cross this field, then they have to go directly over our houses. And that's a really big problem."

Graf lives with his wife and two kids, alongside his brother and his family. Graf runs a small business supplying horse farms. But he spends more and more of his time these days crusading against plans for an expanded power grid. He has posted signs, and printed pamphlets and bumper stickers. He holds monthly meetings, where attendance is growing.

Graf's neighbors are joining in his fight. Marco Franzen lives a few miles away. His home abuts rolling farmlands, fields where horses, cows and sheep graze. The Schwentine river flows nearby through a protected forest. Standing on a sloping field, Franzen whips out binoculars and points out an osprey flying low over the river.

"We built our house here 10 years ago. We've started a family, and the power lines are a threat to our very existence. We're worried about our kids' lives, their health," he says. "And we're financially invested in the area. We have a 30-year mortgage to pay off. If these power lines are built, and they rip up the natural environment and run through our houses, our quality of life will be ruined."

Franzen, a forestry conservation consultant, says he worries, too, about possible health risks including leukemia and lung problems. Numerous studies, however, have shown no significant health risks from power lines or discernible links to cancer.

The Price Of A Nuclear Phaseout

The rise of the "Not In My Backyard," or NIMBY, movement was perhaps inevitable. But if the German power giant TenneT has its way, opponents will not thwart the German dream of building a better grid to meet the nuclear phaseout goals.

A TenneT spokeswoman stresses that the planned route of new lines is not yet finalized. She adds that the company is working with citizens throughout the affected areas to hear their concerns.

But Graf, Franzen and many others in the north aren't convinced yet. Franzen says he's sounding a wake-up call to a public he says is just starting to realize the problems of more high-tension power lines stretching across the German landscape.

"Many city dwellers come here and think, 'Oh, how lovely,' and an hour later, they are back in the city, switch on their lights and think nothing more of it," he says. "We're the ones that have to live with electricity overhead. We are the ones who will have to deal with the daily strains. It's all well and good to build more wind farms, but we have to live with the power lines."

Back at the wind farm on the North Sea near the Danish border, former air force pilot Holger Arntzen says the future of renewable energy in Germany is bright — if people can adapt.

Arntzen is now project manager of Wind Comm, a nonprofit that supports wind farm development. For him, the key to stopping the backlash against the power lines is to do more to inform Germans that the nuclear phaseout comes with a price and changes in lifestyle.

"To show what is possible, and how I, as a citizen, can influence the load on the grid, like putting on my dishwasher only when the sun shines, because we have a lot of photovoltaics. Or waiting on my dishwasher if we have no wind," he says. "People must accept that the post-nuclear phase has a direct impact on how I live, how they live."

That may be a hard sell, even to the practical-minded Germans. The fact is, the post-Fukushima consensus in Germany has given way to growing concerns about rising energy costs. The debate is intensifying over just who will pay for the transition to renewable energy, how it will happen, how fast — and through whose backyards.

[mouse]

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/RackTheMouse/MAllentArt-Radiation/th_MallenArt-radiation-2.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/RackTheMouse/MAllentArt-Radiation/?action=view&current=MallenArt-radiation-2.mp4)

[mouse]

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/RackTheMouse/MAllentArt-Radiation/th_MAllenArt-radiation-6.jpg (http://s125.photobucket.com/albums/p55/RackTheMouse/MAllentArt-Radiation/?action=view&current=MAllenArt-radiation-6.mp4)

[boutons_deux]

San Onofre Power Plant Layoffs: Troubled Utility To Let 730 Employees Go

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/739317/thumbs/r-SAN-ONOFRE-POWER-PLANT-LAYOFFS-large570.jpg

The owner of the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California will lay off 730 employees during the fourth quarter of this year to cut costs, which the company said are well above the industry average for a facility of its size.

The San Onofre nuclear power plant, or SONGS, has not produced electricity since Jan. 31, when a radiation leak was discovered in one of the plant's two units.

Even without the shutdown, Edison International's Southern California Edison (SCE) utility would be announcing the layoffs, which will reduce the plant workforce to 1,500 employees, a spokeswoman said.

"SCE has concluded that SONGS' staffing and costs are significantly higher than other similar dual unit, non-fleet nuclear power plants," the company said in a statement.

But the shutdown, stemming from premature wear to the plant's steam generators, didn't help, the company said.

"The steam generator issues at SONGS also require that SCE be prudent with its future spending while SCE and regulators review the long-term viability of the nuclear plant," it said.

"The reality is that the Unit 3 reactor will not be operating for some time," it said, referring to the unit where the leak was discovered earlier this year.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/san-onofre-power-plant-layoffs_n_1817128.html

If SO doesn't fire up again, I guess the taxpayers will be stuck with $10Bs of decommissioning costs.

[Winehole23]

http://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/10/6377/2013/bgd-10-6377-2013.html

[Agloco]

http://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/10/6377/2013/bgd-10-6377-2013.html

:tu

Looks like a comprehensive review with good historical contexts for reference. The use of H3 and I129 as short and long term oceanographic transport indicators is most appropriate. Thank you for the update into current research findings.

[boutons_deux]

you BigCarbon sucking right-wingers piss on Germany as dreamy "greens" and resist the slightest possible impingement on your lives for the "socialistic" common good, but I deeply respect Germany's serious commitments (Germany isn't dominated, owned by BigCarbon) to renewables

Is Renewable Energy's Biggest Problem Solved?

German researchers have found a way to overcome one of the problems with renewable energy -- the fact that it is not always available -- by linking different options in a unified system.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/renewable-energys-biggest-problem-solved